Value. It’s something that doesn’t need to be earned. We all have value. Within our own circle of support that value is magnified and can be easily recognized. But every once in a while a person we may not even know does something special and it takes us back. Maybe they spark up a conversation with us at the coffee shop when we least expect it, or maybe they hold open a door or plug our parking meter without us even knowing. How do we recognize and give thanks to the people that brighten our days?

Well….. let me share something exciting with you!

During the remaining weeks of our wintery months here in Regina, COR is bringing to our community the 100 Acts of Kindness Campaign. Over the next 10 weeks we are going to do our very best to recognize the many folks in both our lives – and the people we support — who make us smile. We will be recognizing people who go out of their way to make our days better by doing the little things (or the big things) that reflect the value they place on all those around them. These are the very people who exemplify what it means to be become more loving (the 3rd pillar of Gentle Teaching). We are going to recognize people for making the ordinary seem extraordinary!

Do You Want to Show Someone the Love!?!

It feels great to receive kindness, but it also feels good to give and value others as well. On our website, you will find a COR A-OK! button. Simply click it and get started on brightening the day of someone connected to the greater COR family. The A-OK! team will receive your submission, review, and plan to hit the streets to bring your nomination to life!

We want EVERYONE in the COR community to get involved! Ask your team about their local heroes – big and small. Join our street team to bring joy and thanks to others. Join with us to celebrate the unsung heroes of our city who bring warmth to our hearts and smiles to our faces.

Warming the hearts of Downtown Regina on a frigid winter day…. a special thanks to Atlantis Coffee!

Our community heroes recognized in week 3.

Big Dog Radio, Save-On-Foods, Extendicare, Eastview Community Center and a few other random surprises: Week 4.

Roaming the corridors of campus spreading kindness throughout the University of Regina during week 5.

Diggin’ out after the Regina blizzard and a stop at local schools: Week 6

Cris-crossing Regina with stops at local drive-thru’s, Trademark Homes, Ecole Connaught and a local medi-clinic (and a surprise visit from CBC Saskatchewan): Week 7

Recognizing the Regina Transit Titans: Week 8

Week 9 of the 100 Acts of Kindness campaign took the Street Team to new depths! We went behind the scenes to recognize the silent ninjas and superheroes that keep all of Regina’s critters big and small, safe, healthy and happy!

What do 2 Rockin’ Safeway Customer Service representatives, 1 Sask Power Employee and personal motivator, 1 Elementary School Principal and a room full of over 30 volunteers have in common? They are all AOK in our books! Week 10 marks the final week of the 100 Acts of Kindness campaign for us, but that doesn’t mean it has to end! The people around us and in our everyday lives all do amazing things. Let’s not forget to tell them how special they are.

Finale: The 100 Acts of Kindness Campaign has come to an end and we couldn’t be happier with the amount of support we received from our friends in the community to help bring it all to life! Never forget how important you are and remember that it only takes one person to create change! Huge shout out to all the groups who not only made this campaign a success, but were leaders in spreading kindness to others!

Dr. John McGee’s Gentle Teaching has transformed the person I am by helping me to understand that everyone deserves the help that they require. This is beneficial to me as I start my internship at a local inner-city school through the University of Regina Faculty of Education. As I start this journey, the teachings of McGee will continue to guide and shape my thought process by helping me to understand that there are reasons behind any action, as well as by helping me recognize the difference between equal and equitable. Together these teachings help me to better support those around me.

The realization that there is a reason behind any action will help to guide me in the future. The importance of recognizing things like attention seeking behaviours helps me to understand that some “negative” behaviours may stem from a negative experience or that a person may be lacking positive attention so they are seeking that attention through behaviours. A key for me to deal with this is to remember the four tools of gentle teaching; presence, words, hands, and eyes. By having a welcoming presence, words of encouragement/recognition and to spread conversation throughout the class, using my body language to show that I am calm and accepting, and my eyes to recognize everyone’s presence I will be able to provide positive attention to all students.

Along with the tools, the pillars of Gentle Teaching (safe, loved, loving, and engaged) have taught me the difference between equal and equitable. This will guide me in supporting individuals who I serve with COR as well as in school. This is important because the pillars can be used as categories of self-fulfillment. When considering a person’s level of content with their pillars, there may be pillars where that persons level of content is higher than others. This is similar to using a wellness wheel to measure different areas of health like physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. By using the four pillars of gentle teaching I am able to better understand that everyone feels more content and less content in different areas so everyone needs equitable treatment that focuses on the pillar(s) that they need to improve the most in order to make that individual feel fulfilled in all four pillars. Where as equal treatment would focus on helping everyone progress in the same way without considering individual needs. Considering the four pillars will help me to make sure that people feel fulfilled in those areas and are able to say “in this place I feel safe, I feel loved, I am able to love and I am engaged with the people and things around me”. This helps me to better understand that everyone needs support in their own specific way.

Gentle Teaching has helped to transform me into the person I am today. The teachings help me to better comprehend the idea that every person needs a different form of support. Through critical thinking I am able to understand that there are reasons for any action and that people deserve to have support that suits their needs instead of one uniform approach. Gentle Teaching has helped me to grow as a teacher, support person and most importantly as a person.

Before I started working at Creative Options Regina I had never heard of the term “Gentle Teaching.”

I had never worked with people with disabilities before – and to be quite honest – I was afraid.

I was afraid because my entire life society told me to disregard and disengage; to completely forget about what it means to show compassion, friendship, and above all else, acceptance to those with disabilities. After taking Gentle Teaching Level 2 the first week working in the office I can’t tell you that I was “changed” or “different,” in fact I was quite the same. Gentle Teaching started to shape my inner self through the interactions and observations of those around me: the supports, the office team, and, most importantly, the people we serve.

I was inspired by these interactions and how the 4 pillars of gentle teaching were incorporated into everyday interactions almost seamlessly. How gentle teaching opened this door to interactions I had never thought I would WANT to have. Slowly, I was able to incorporate myself into the lives of the people we serve, learning about them, caring about them. I also didn’t realize this was happening outside of COR with my daily interactions with family and friends. Gentle Teaching doesn’t happen over night and it is something you can never master. But, you learn everyday a little bit more and grow a little bit more. That is what I love about Gentle Teaching and that is how I move forward to engage, to love, to be loved, and provide safety to all those around me.

Tom

COR Family Member

Michaelhttp://gentleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo-white.pngMichael2018-01-01 08:00:442018-01-01 08:00:44I was inspired by these interactions and how the 4 pillars of gentle teaching were incorporated into everyday interactions almost seamlessly.